natalie kennerley fisct csci - university of exeter€¦ · natalie kennerley fisct csci...
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- by technicians, for technicians.
Natalie Kennerley FIScT CSci
@Your_TechNet
The Invisible Workforce
• Overshadowed by “professional” doctors, scientists and engineers
• Universities primary aim = to succeed as a research and teaching institution
• Recognition for technical contribution is not always there.
“The whole structure is inter- related and without one all others fail” (Martin Luther King, Jr)
Technician of Today
Aims
• Create a technical community within University of Sheffield• Be inclusive and flexible• Provide a networking opportunity• Provide work shadowing opportunities • Raise awareness of technicians, their value in the science
community and role in grant income capture• Provide self help within the technical community• Promote good professional conduct• Promote professional registration
• By technicians, for technicians
How it all began
• Faculty of Science professional staff development day in November 2013.
• Session reinforced beliefs that due to recognition technicians were becoming isolated and sceptical.
• Staff surveys had previously indicated that technicians felt under valued.
• Didn’t know what their colleagues in other departments were doing
• Cause for concern was that some academics still viewed technicians as second class citizens.
We wanted to change this and create a network for technicians; giving them the opportunity to
be seen and heard;
We created TechNet for the unsung heroes of academia – the technicians
Why did we chose the medium of a network to fuel our idea?
• Everybody is part of a network nowadays, Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram
• Networking makes it possible to connect people who share interests and activities across many boundaries and borders
• Build brand image, create brand awareness, learn about new technology
• Increases organisational learning in ways that would not be possible within a self-contained hierarchical organisation
• Expand knowledge base and share ideas
• Develop relationships – strengthen social ties and professional contacts
• Can aid collaborations on common fields of interest and knowledge sharing
• Dissemination of information and the ability to reach and multiply professional contacts exponentially
• Publicise events, discuss issues and create debates
Small beginnings…
• Researched what was going on at Sheffield and discovered some networks already existed – Parents, Network, Women’s Network, Administrators Forum.
• None focussed solely on technicians or the technical community as a whole.
• Put together a technical networking event and so TechNet was created.
Share knowledge and best practice.
Improve recognition.
Voluntary Membership.
Open to all.
Quarterly on-campus events.
Nurture Collaborations.
Strengthen cross discipline links.
Creating an online community.
Vision without execution is hallucination!- Thomas Edison
TechNet – “Who Are We?”
• March 2014
• Open to all at University of Sheffield
• Used Turning Point Technology – evaluate feedback
• Launch of TechNet website
What was the outcome?
Overwhelming Success!I would like to do some work
shadowing in a new field of work. TechNet has given me the
opportunity to network and find the right person to work shadow.
I’ve met somebody who I haven’t seen for 15 years, we are doing the same job but in different departments! We plan to do an
exchange visit to see if each of us can pick
up any tips.
TechNet is a great way to support each other and to know that we are all experiencing the same issues and hopefully
together we can make things better for technicians, for example increased recognition, more training opportunities.
• Interest from over 100 attendees from across faculties.
• Success was measured by the actions of those attending the event.
• This was the first time that a networking event had brought together technical staff from departments across all faculties into one place.
New Challenges
• Steering group – volunteers from technical staff community
• Champions for network
• Disseminate feedback and plan for the next event
• Need to create Terms of Reference
Conflict within steering group led to the creation of the TechNet Executive group
Further Events
“Spotlight On Career Development”
“Technician’s Showcase”
“TechNet – Who Do You Think We Are?”
“Are You Getting The Best Out Of Your SRDS?”
Challenges.…
• Key challenge – make sure that TechNet events are driven by the ideas of the technicians; it’s their network
• Ensure that each TechNet event allows time for discussions
• More interest in technical careers – now seen as well paid with good career pathways
• Grant awarding bodies looking to have named staff who are professionally registered
• HE jobs beginning to list prof registered as essential or desirable criteria
Future plans…• Based on participation of the technicians
• Revolve around the input from technicians and what they perceive to be important and relevant issues
• Stronger links with undergraduates – work experience programs (work with careers service)
• Promotion of professional registration – positive effect in recruiting interest from other Universities
Get Involved!We would like to develop more networking opportunities with other universities and
organisations and are currently working hard to achieve this.
Overall we would like to build on the success of TechNet and continue to provide the world class
teaching and research by being a world class technical team across the whole University.
Technically the future is bright!
Our Details.
Please contact the team if you would like to get involved or know more:
Melanie Hannah MIScT, RSci
Kevin OxleyFIScT, Csci
Chris SmithMIScT, RSci
Natalie KennerleyFIScT, CSci